The 5 Best White Wines for Cooking

Do you remember your first bite of linguine with white wine clam sauce, lobster bisque with sherry, or savory chicken Marsala? Cooking with white wine brings balance, fruit, and acidity to so many of our favorite recipes. Once you move past grocery store “cooking wine” (and I strongly advise you to do so!) and introduce even moderately priced white wine into the equation (leave that $40 Chardonnay in the wine fridge), your possibilities and cooking style expand exponentially.

Here are five white wines that are each wonderful for cooking in their own way.

Essential Advice for Cooking with White Wine

By far, the most versatile style of wine to cook with is a dry, crisp white wine. Rich, oaky whites can become bitter during the cooking process, while sweeter whites may caramelize during deglazing or add unwanted sweetness to certain dishes.

As wine cooks, it becomes an integrated part of the whole, and subtle nuances are almost always lost; therefore, a high-quality wine is only appropriately used to finisha dish, where it will be the featured component. Unless that is the case, choose a moderately priced, quaffable white wine, and spend your extra money on quality ingredients instead.